Vitamin A and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Clinical Study Title:
Vitamin A and sudden infant death syndrome in Scandinavia 1992-1995.

Plain English Summary:

This study looked at nutritional factors related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Parents of children who died of SIDS were interviewed about their babies' health and vitamin intake and these results were compared with dietary intake of healthy babies. This study found that those babies not given a vitamin supplement were at an increased risk of SIDS. There was also a reduced risk of SIDS when the vitamin supplement had vitamin A in it. There is a lowered risk that was found when the babies received specifically a vitamin A supplement. This suggests that a multivitamin containing vitamin A during the early months of life can help to reduce the risk of SIDS.